Time to Show Us Where You Would Like ‘To Boldly Go’
Fictions November Prompt & Newsletter #4
Give this a try: type “To” followed by a space into your web browser . . .
Maybe it’s just because I’m a huge nerd, but the first thing that pops up for me is “To boldly go,” the infamous words from the Star Trek theme.
Humans are natural explorers. We like few things more than hitting the road and chasing the sunset over the next hill. We love to seek, to search, to scout.
We’ve mapped the world and we’re working on traversing the stars.
Many of my favourite tales are adventures that investigate the known universe and well beyond: one of the earliest I can recall utterly captivating me is Madeline L’Engle’s classic adolescent novel, A Wrinkle in Time. In it, Meg and Co. cross the galaxy using the inscrutable ‘tesseract’ to rescue her father.
Yet, really Meg’s journey is about discovering the nature and power of love and how even an awkward, self-conscious teenage girl can become a hero through bravery and deepening self-awareness.
For November, we invite you to be inspired by the theme ‘Exploration.’
Tell us a story where your characters survey a new land, undergo an epiphany, or probe their unconscious — after all, James Joyce’s Ulysses proved that delving into language, history, literature, and the human mind can be just as epic as fighting the Trojans or traversing the Aegean sea.
Not all heroes are sailors; not all explorers are plunderers of foreign lands.
In line with that, we’d love to see how you incorporate a Map.
When I hear the word, I think of the film Goonies, and the childhood delight of finding a treasure map. But your character might be a cartographer, bent on tracing the lines of every coast. Or they might discover a secret star map, like Jodie Foster’s character did in Contact, and follow it out of our solar system.
A map is compelling for what it shows, as well as what it only intimates. The map is never the territory.
These days we all have easy access to maps on our phones — where could that lead you if you let it? Perhaps you even draw your own map and use it as inspiration for your story . . . thusly has begun many an engrossing fantasy.
If you aren’t yet a writer for Fictions, please look at our Submission Guidelines and send your draft to fictionsatmedium@gmail.com.
Make sure you tag it ToBoldlyGo so we can sort it properly!
October Prompt Entries: War Is Hell
Thanks to all of you who participated in our October prompt! It was a slow month at Fictions generally, with a few of our regular contributors cooling their heels. But I’m quite delighted by all the incredible stories we did receive.
The multi-talented Sandi Parsons wrote her first piece for us, intense and brief, called “Fortune Favours the Brave.” It’s set in Japan during WW2 and was inspired by her Uncle Ebbie, who luckily lived to tell his tale.
I wrote two stories: this one also set during WW2 (though far from the front lines) and “Try Not To Panic If You Lose Your Roll For Initiative,” featuring my love for tabletop roleplaying games.
Arpad Nagy delivered a marvellously detailed tale of two lovers separated by ‘the war to end all wars’ entitled “The Devil’s Fog and the Red Thread.”
Patrick Metzger wrote a surprising alternate history for the end of the war with his fun story, “The Hunting Lodge,” which had more than a hint of Hemingway-esque off-handedness in its casual precision.
In “I Am the King of War!” the always innovative Mary DeVries warned us of the dangers of making inaccurate remarks now that Alexa is perpetually listening: someone unexpected may take you at your word.
The queen of creepy, Lisa Gerard Braun, enchanted us with “The Forsaken Brother and His Lame-Brained Plan.”
The incorrigible and prolific Simon Dillon honoured Fictions with a short novella, “Leave,” which is well worth the time (and emotional!) investment.
About his heartfelt story, Sarah Paris had this to say: “I knew the twists that were coming, but I became so invested in the characters that I didn’t care — I had to keep reading, and those twists still landed the way they ought to land. Well done, my friend.”
A belated welcome to Betsy Denson, who shared the deliciously creepy “Turn Around Bright Eyes” for our September Prompt, Writing Stranger Stories. Both prompts are still open, so feel free to let them continue to percolate!
For those of you who’ve joined the Fictions writing community more recently, we have an incredible group of writers here. Not only are they captivating storytellers, they’re also going to be your most committed readers, so don’t be shy.
Read, respond, clap, repeat!
And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter if you haven’t yet. Thanks for being a part of this creative and inspiring community!
